Brit actor Stephen Graham curates the Jameson Cult Film Club's first ever Halloween event in Liverpool this week, selecting the Hammer Horror classic Dracula to screen at St. George's Hall. We got on the phone with the This Is England star, midway through filming on Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, to chat about the Christopher Lee classic and all things Jack Sparrow.

Why did you choose Dracula for your Jameson Cult Film Club Halloween screening?
"It was one of the first horror films I'd seen when I was young back in the day. It frightened me but I really wanted to keep watching it. As you get older you realise, for a genre like that, it was brilliant. You know, those great folk tales like if you have garlic the vampires can't get it and things like that. It was really classily shot and the suspense and fear of it all was brilliant. Plus it was really seductive and really sexy. I just think that it's a classic horror film."

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Is Christopher Lee the definitive Dracula for you?
"Yeah, you've got him and Peter Cushing. You've got the hero and the anti-hero. Dracula wasn't just evil, we sort of felt sorry for him a little bit. The pairing of them two together was absolutely brilliant as well."

What can people expect from the St. Georges Hall venue?
"It's a beautiful venue, an amazing venue. I remember watching a few concerts there years ago. They asked if I'd like to be involved and I thought it would be a great night to get people to go and watch a great film in a beautiful building. It'll be really apt for the film."

You're doing Pirates Of The Caribbean at the moment. That must be a far cry from working on small budgets with Shane Meadows?
"I'm very blessed in the work I'm able to do. Working on This Is England I would carry the lights with the crew to the next location, then on this huge set at Pinewood there's the biggest crew I've ever seen in my life. Shane could probably make seven films with the crew we've got!"

How has the Pirates experience been so far?
"It's brilliant. It's fantasy. It's fun. The director, Rob Marshall, is lovely and it's great to work with Johnny [Depp] again after Public Enemies. I'm just having a great time, I've met some really lovely people. It's a fun film to do and I think that'll come across on screen."

What kind of a pirate is your character Scram?
"He's a good lad. He's a nice pirate, so to speak. He's a really nice pirate. I'm Penelope Cruz's right-hand man, but don't get me wrong he'll go anywhere where there's a pound note and a job involved. He doesn't have to be loyal to anyone. He's a great character to play and it's nice for me, for a change, to play some comedy."

Does he have any pirate quirks like a wooden leg or a parrot?
"He's got a slightly glass eye. He's got half an eye on his right eye. He's got a huge scar around his face near that eye as well. It's great to let my hair down and have a bit of fun with the script."

How seriously does Johnny Depp take playing Jack Sparrow?
"You don't sit down for a cup of tea and he talks like Jack Sparrow, he's not like that. That's what I love about him, you can sit and chat and he'll be talking about some kind of mushroom in a lovely dinner he had and then you say 'action!' and he just becomes Jack Sparrow. Then he'll come back and say, 'About that sauce. What you need to do is add a little bit ofâ€¦' It's just fantastic how he clicks into character."

What will Rob Marshall bring to the series?
"He's a great director, a lovely man to work with. I think he's going to put his own little spin on the new Pirates. I can't wait to see the final product."

Stephen Graham is curating the Liverpool Jameson Cult Film Club event, a screening of Dracula (1958), on Thursday, October 28. For tickets visit www.jamesoncultfilmclub.com